


By the Sea

by blindinglights



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fisherman Sidney, M/M, Merman Geno, Minor Injuries, Mythical Beings & Creatures, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-17 22:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11277735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindinglights/pseuds/blindinglights
Summary: The first time Sid meets the stranger is when he returns from sea after a long day. The man is sitting on his dock, feet dangling into the water.





	By the Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [I_am_sorry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_sorry/gifts).



> This was a bit different than what I usually write, but I hope the giftee likes this! There are some injuries that happen, but nothing is graphic. 
> 
> Thanks to F for the beta!

The first time Sid meets the stranger is when he returns from sea after a long day. The man is sitting on his dock, feet dangling into the water, and finally looks up at Sid when he gets off his boat. 

“Hello?” Sid asks tentatively. The town is small, just a few hundred or so people, so everyone pretty much knows each other. This man, however, Sidney has never seen before. 

“Hello!” the man says happily, voice accented. 

“Can I help you?” Sidney asks.

“I’m needing find place to sleep,” the man says, and pinches his fingers together. “Little lost.”

There’s an inn in town where Sidney knows the man can stay, but the man is dressed only in tattered pants that look dirty, his unruly hair is wet and hanging in his face, and he looks tired. The sky is already darkening, and Sidney doesn’t live too closely to the main parts of town. He’s not sure if it’s a good idea, but he can almost hear his mother telling him to do good deeds and Sid is usually a good judge of character. This guy doesn’t even look like he has anything with him, just himself, which makes Sid wonder.

“You can stay with me,” Sidney offers after a moment. “I have an extra room.” 

The man’s face brightens even more, grin stretching wide, and goes to stand. “Thank you! I’m not much trouble, just sleep. Can call me Geno.” 

“Sidney,” he says back, and then starts working on getting his stuff cleaned up and put away. “Just give me a little bit to clean this all up.” 

Geno watches him quietly for a few minutes before he goes back to looking out at the water. 

Afterward, he leads Geno up to his house. It’s not a very large house, but then again it’s usually just Sidney. There’s a spare bedroom that he shows to Geno, who walks into it gladly and falls face first into the bed. 

“Is nice,” Geno says, looking over at Sid, who is still standing in the doorway. “Very nice.”

“Well,” Sid says. “I’ll leave you to get some sleep.” 

“Thank you,” Geno calls out to his retreating back. Sidney shoots him a small smile before shutting the door.

Sidney is reading a book when Geno wanders into the living room a few hours later, rubbing at his tired eyes. He yawns wide before his eyes fall on Sidney.

“Are you hungry?” Sidney asks, because he has no idea if this man has even had anything to eat. When Geno nods, Sidney sets his book aside and goes into the kitchen to see what he has. There’s leftovers of what he made himself earlier and Sidney puts it into a bowl for Geno, setting it on the small dining table he has. 

Geno sits down and thanks him for it before he devours his dinner. During that time, Sidney sits opposite him and thinks about what to say. He’s never been the best with strangers, preferring to just keep to himself. It’s why he likes how small the town is, because he can just keep with routine and he knows everyone. Geno, though. Geno’s an anomaly and Sidney finds himself drawn to him, for some reason. He’s curious.

When Geno’s done, he pushes the bowl away. “Is very good, Sid. Much thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Sidney says, and then, “How are you doing? Better?”

“Tired, still. Where I’m from, things not so good. There is lots going on, but it is a bit too much for me. So I’m here for now, but so tired. I come here for rest and I find you,” Geno’s talking slowly, carefully as if he’s weighing his words before he says them. Sidney doesn’t know if it’s because he’s trying to find the right words to say or he doesn’t want to give away anything he shouldn’t. “You are very nice to let me stay,” Geno adds after a moment. 

“You looked like you needed help,” Sidney tells him. “I try to be a good judge of character and I figured I’d help you out. You’re welcome and safe here.”

Geno looks surprised at that admission and says his thanks, again.

\--

The next day, Geno is gone. 

Sidney knocks on his door, calls out his name to no response, and when he opens the door it’s to see the bed completely made and no sign of Geno anywhere. He didn’t even hear him leave, and Sidney finds himself a little disappointed that Geno never even thought to say goodbye.

After that, Sidney opts to go about his day the way he always does. He goes outside, stretches and looks out at the horizon where the sun is high in the sky. There’s storm clouds in the distance and Sid decides on an off day. He needs to go into town for fresh groceries anyway, and he can see if Geno went that way as well. He’s not sure where else the stranger could have wandered off too, since he needed a place to sleep. 

He stops by the inn on his way into town and asks if they’ve seen a tall, dark-haired man calling himself “Geno”. 

“Nobody’s been in all day, except you,” the inn-keeper, Marc, says. Marc’s been tending to the inn for years, taking it over after the last inn-keeper left town. Sid’s pretty sure he has every face and name memorized, even those who have only passed through the town. 

“Nobody?”

Marc shakes his head. “No, why?”

“There was a man at my dock last night when I came back ashore, he needed a place to sleep, so I let him sleep in my spare room. Maybe he just passed through the town, then.” 

“You found him by the water?” Marc asks and when Sidney nods, he says, “You’ve heard the tales, right?” 

There were tales his mother and father told him when he was a kid. The stories about those who live in the sea and look like people, and can walk the land during times of great stress. There were stories about beings who wished to live amongst the humans and would fight for that right to do so, oftentimes ending badly but other times there were happy endings. His mother usually told him the ones with the happy endings, but when he went fishing with his father, he wouldn’t shy away from the more gruesome tales and warning Sidney about those who lurk in the deep waters of the ocean.

“The ones my parents told me, yes.”

Marc shrugs. “I’m just telling you, where you found him and everything just sounds very suspicious.”

“He could just be a drifter,” Sid offers, but even he isn’t sure and it sounds unlikely to his own ears. He’s always gotten a sense of _something_ out there every now and then since he’s started fishing. 

“I’ve always believed those stories, even if I’ve never seen one with my own eyes before. It’s true, they’re out there. And you’re a fisherman, I think it was just a matter of time before _something_ happened.” Just then, a little girl comes barreling at Marc, running into his legs. Marc scoops her up into his arms.

“I’ll let you tend to your daughter,” Sid says, already walking toward the door. “I’ll see you around, eh?”

“Sure thing,” Marc says. “And don’t forget what I told you, okay? Careful out there.”

Sid runs the rest of his errands that day, and all the while he can’t stop thinking about the possibilities that Geno _is_ from the sea. He can’t get all the stories from his childhood out of his head. He’s half tempted to stop by his parents’ house and ask them questions, but he knows that’ll just cause them to ask him questions, and Sid decides it’s not worth it. 

When he gets home, he starts on dinner and ends up taking it out on his porch where it overlooks a good view of the sea, and eats slowly while thinking about the ocean and Geno.

\--

Sidney doesn’t see Geno until a week later. He’s docking his boat when he spots him, this time stretched out on the dock and watching Sidney. Geno’s arms are behind his head, pillowing his head against the hard surface and there’s a soft, almost content smile on his face. He looks completely at ease just lying by the water, as if there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. 

Geno’s smile widens when Sid steps off the boat. “Hi, Sid,” he says. 

“I thought you left.”

“I did, I come back, see you. I need place to sleep again.” Geno’s still wearing the same tattered, dirty looking pants with no shirt on. Geno’s dry this time, at least. Sid wonders how long he’s been waiting here for him. “You can help?” 

Sid hesitates for a moment. He wants to ask, “Where are you from?” He wants to say, “Tell me why you’re here.” He wants to question, “Where did you go last time, that now you’re already back?” Nothing is adding up, except for everything that Marc had told him. Instead, Sid says, “You can stay.”

“You best,” Geno says fervently. 

“I don’t mind,” Sid tells him, and leaves off _I like the company_. 

Sidney tells Geno he can make himself at home this time and Geno wanders off into the living room and stretches out on the couch. Sidney goes about his routine; gets cleaned up and starts on dinner. Geno’s right where he left him when he peeks his head into the room to let him know that dinner is ready, if he wants to join Sidney at the small dining table. 

“You sell fish?” Geno asks, halfway through their meal, head cocked to the side.

“Yeah, I clean them first, then I head into town to sell to the local market. It goes okay in this little town. I’m the only fisherman so that helps.” 

“Mean you best, one and only,” Geno says. “Anyone else try? Ever?” 

“There was one guy before me, he’s who I bought this house from. He decided to retire, so I took over.”

“How long?” 

“A few years now,” Sidney says, and Geno _hmms_. “I like it. My family lives one town over, where I grew up. I always liked the water, didn’t see myself doing anything else.”

“It’s nice, very peaceful,” Geno agrees. “I like, too.” 

Sidney wants to ask then, _is that where you’re from? The water?_ But instead, he he asks a mundane question about how Geno likes the dinner and the conversation changes completely. Maybe Sidney will eventually have the nerve to ask what he really wants to, or something else will happen to shed some light on all of Sidney’s curiosity and questions. 

\--

Another week passes, and then another, before Sidney sees Geno again. It’s a much longer stretch of time now, and Sidney was starting to get worried before he decided to just pass it off that maybe Geno just decided to leave for good. 

When Sidney is almost to the dock, he sees a figure slumped against the dock, unmoving. The mop of curly hair gives it away as Geno, and Sidney finds himself scrambling to dock his boat faster. Once he’s there, he quickly anchors his boat, wrapping the rope securely before clambering off the boat. He drops to his knees next to Geno and checks him over for injuries. 

There’s no blood or injuries anywhere, none that Sidney can see anyway, but nothing he does manages to wake Geno up. Geno’s wearing his tattered pants still, but they look hastily put on and they’re dripping wet, with new tears in a few spots. Sidney picks him up carefully and carries him to his house, setting him down on the bed in his spare room. 

Sidney steps back and just looks at Geno, feeling lost as to what to do. 

He’s not even sure what’s wrong with Geno at first, just that he’s unconscious and not showing any signs of waking up anytime soon, until he finally notices the spots of blood on his tattered pants. With further inspection, Sidney realizes there’s a gash on his leg. The wound may not be large but it looks deep and still bleeds sluggishly. Judging from the pallor of Geno’s face, Sidney figures it must have bled freely for a while. He knows it needs to be tended to right away, so he works on wrapping Geno’s leg and then getting him in a comfortable enough position on the bed.

There’s a few people in town who may have answers to give him, but the only person he’s even mentioned Geno to so far is Marc. He’s not even sure what Marc will say, and he’ll probably go on about how Geno is clearly from the sea. At this point, Sidney’s definitely leaning toward that being true because none of this really makes any sense. With that knowledge settling in, Sidney still has no idea what to do. 

It’s worrying him. It’s making him feel a mess of things that he’s not even sure where to start to untangle them. Sidney retreats to his sitting room and waits. He tries to read, but that ends up not working at all to take his mind off Geno. 

It’s a few hours until he hears noise coming from the other room and he waits a moment before peering into the room, knocking first just to let Geno know that someone’s entering. Geno is sitting up slowly, wincing in pain, hand coming up to rub at his face, his eyes. Eventually, Geno looks over at him, confusion in his eyes. 

“Sid?” Geno sits up more, only to wince in pain and fall back down. “How I get here?” 

“I found you on my dock, you wouldn’t wake up,” Sidney explains. “You don’t remember what happened?” 

Geno shakes head. “Everything hurt. I don’t know.”

There’s purpling bruising across the right side of Geno’s body and Sidney wonders if he must’ve hurt his ribs somehow, besides the terrible gash on his leg. “You don’t remember getting hurt?” Sidney asks as he settles beside him on the bed. There’s a small medical kit in his hands and he makes sure Geno can see exactly what he’s doing as he takes out a roll of gauze and a pair of scissors. 

Geno points at it. There’s confusion etched on his face, and Sidney wonders if he’s never seen anything like this before and then realizes that if speculation turns out to be true, he probably hasn’t. Sidney almost asks him right then, but manages to hold back his barrage of questions. 

“This is for the cut on your leg,” Sidney explains, just in case. “You got hurt pretty badly, there was a lot of blood. I cleaned you up and then wrapped your leg in this.” He holds it up so Geno can see it better. “Now I need to change your bandages. Okay?”

“Okay.”

So Sidney changes the bandages on Geno’s leg, being as careful and gentle as he can. Geno watches him closely the entire time, hissing in pain every now and then, but mostly just staying quiet. Once Sidney’s cut the gauze and fastened it in place, Geno reaches down to touch at it carefully. 

“You’ve never been hurt like this before?” Sidney asks, because Geno looks like he’s never even seen bandages like this before. There’s awe and curious wonder on his face. 

“No, I’m hurt a lot,” Geno says, still prodding at the bandage. “But I never have this.”

There’s something more there that Geno isn’t saying. Sidney watches him carefully for a few moments before shaking off his curiosity. He’s pretty sure, no matter what, he’ll always be some sort of curious about Geno. But now he needs to focus on Geno healing, and there’s no place at all for distracting thoughts of what ifs. 

By the time Sidney’s done taking care of him, Geno is hungry but he’s also looking half asleep already. Geno’s heavy lidded, lying on the bed and staring at Sid lazily. 

“Done?” Geno asks. 

“Done. But don’t move too much. You want food or sleep more?”

“Sleep, eat when wake up,” Geno mumbles, already mostly asleep. His accent is more pronounced when he’s half asleep like this, and Sidney smiles at him, patting him on the leg.

“Good night,” Sidney calls out softly, before shutting the door. 

\--

When Sidney wakes up the next day, Geno’s still fast asleep in the spare room.

\--

Geno sleeps all day and doesn’t stir until late afternoon. 

Sidney is walking out of his bedroom when he hears him, the soft groans of pain like Geno’s trying to sit up but failing still. When Sidney peers in, Geno’s doing just that, pain etched across his face. As soon as he spots Sidney, he looks at him pleadingly to come save him. 

“Let me change your bandages,” Sidney says, already heading into his room where the supplies are. 

Geno’s lying back down when Sidney gets back and he looks like he wishes he wasn’t bed ridden. Sidney can sympathize, remembering the times he’s been hurt enough to warrant it. It’s never any fun.

“I know this sucks,” Sidney tells him. “But you’ll get better soon, okay? It just takes time to heal.”

“I’m want it to heal now,” Geno says. “No time for this. Why it can’t go away?” 

“It’s not so bad, Geno.” 

“Could be worse, I’m know, but I still hate. You be stuck in bed? How you like this?” 

Sidney laughs, shaking his head. “I didn’t like it. But if you want to get better, you have to do whatever it takes, okay?” Geno sighs, long-suffering. “You can stay here until you’re better. Maybe a week?”

“A week,” Geno says, looking thoughtful, “Okay. You busy? I know you must fish, is very important--”

“I’m planning to take a few days off, it won’t hurt me any. I’d rather be here for you.”

Sidney has to look away then, because the look Geno is leveling him is pretty heavy, so much behind it that he can’t even bear to meet his eyes any longer. Sidney’s just trying to be there for someone he cares about, and God does he care about Geno a lot. He’d rather miss a few days and help Geno, than be stuck out on the water worrying that Geno can’t get from point A to point B in his house just for a simple glass of water.

It’ll be fine.

\--

Over the course of Geno’s stay, Sidney learns more about Geno. He learns that Geno loves whatever Sidney cooks and puts in front of him. He learns that Geno has a brother, but hasn’t seen him or his parents in awhile. He learns mostly small things, mostly all unimportant and just fun facts. Geno never says why he’s here, or where he’s from, or even why or how he was hurt in the first place. He grows quiet any time there’s mention of his family, or if Sidney mentions his own, as if it’s a sore subject he wishes he could simply will away. There’s a story there, Sidney knows, but one Sidney thinks he shouldn’t pressure Geno to give him. 

There are some things Geno does or says that makes Sidney either confused or even more curious. There’s times when they’re eating something that requires a knife and Geno fumbles with it like he’s just now learning how to use one. Sidney just laughs and helps him with it, ignoring Geno’s protestations that he can figure it out. 

There are other times when Geno will mutter things under his breath that sounds like some other language Sidney’s never heard before. Most of the time Sidney never says anything, but there are other times where Sidney will look at him curiously and Geno will look stricken and caught out. 

All Geno’s secrecy does is make Sid wonder more, makes him wonder if all his suspicions, all of Marc’s seemingly firm belief is true.

From the days they do spend together, Sidney becomes more and more charmed by him. He’s funny, if a little quirky. Sidney absolutely loves it, and by day two he decides that Geno’s really just a breath of fresh air compared to everybody else. Not that Sidney doesn’t like his friends and family and the rest of the townsfolk, it’s just nice to be around somebody new and different, to hear new stories. 

By day three Sidney realizes that he generally loves Geno’s company and hopes he never leaves. He realizes that Geno makes him laugh a lot more than Sidney’s laughed in the past few months, always too caught up in his work to really hang around anyone he knows.

By day six, Geno leaves and Sidney realizes he never knew how lonely he was until he had someone in his house day in and day out. Geno had made a space for himself in Sidney’s life, and now Sidney feels the emptiness of Geno’s absence. 

He spends that day staring off at the water, wondering if he’ll ever see Geno again.

\--

Geno comes back two days later. He’s already waiting for Sidney one morning, his feet dangling in the ocean next to Sidney’s boat. Sidney’s pleasantly surprised to see him, and he feels himself grin wide as he heads down to the water.

“Hello, Sid,” Geno says cheerily. “Nice day.”

The sun’s already peaking out over the horizon, bathing the sky in a soft orange glow. There’s a few clouds in the sky, but other than that, it’s nice out so far. 

“Nice day, eh? Nice out now, but who knows what later brings.”

Geno shakes his head, laughing. “No, it nice day all day. You see.” Geno taps his head. “I know.”

Sidney blinks and goes to open his mouth to say something, but refrains. Geno probably wouldn’t even tell him _how_ he knows that, or will give some half answer that doesn’t even make sense. Instead, Sidney asks, “You want to go out on the water with me?”

“I’m wait here for you,” Geno says, patting the wood. 

“You sure? You said yourself it’s a nice day out.”

Geno makes shooing motions. “Go. Go be fisherman, I wait here, okay?”

Sidney laughs. “Sure, okay.”

So Sidney does. 

He catches some fish in his net for a few hours and when he comes back ashore, sure enough Geno’s still right where he left him. Geno looks lost in thought as he gazes up at the clear blue sky, and Sidney feels half tempted to ask him what’s on his mind. 

When Sidney goes to dock his boat, Geno finally looks over at him. 

“I’m stay with you?” Geno asks, as soon as Sidney gets off the boat. 

Sidney realizes he can’t say no to Geno. He should tell him about the inn that Marc runs, but he knows he doesn’t really want Geno to go there. He prefers Geno to be right here, nearby so he knows that he’s okay. It’s only been two days, but two days ago Geno had disappeared again and Sidney had no idea if he would see him ever again. And really, he does like the company, especially Geno’s. 

“Yeah, you can stay with me,” Sidney says easily, and sure enough Geno follows him right up to his house and in through the door. 

It’s like second nature by now, Geno making himself at home like he’s lived there for years. Sidney realizes it really doesn’t feel weird to have this person come in and do this. Not Geno, at least. He’s been coming around for months now, and they’ve become friends, Sidney thinks. 

And Sidney likes Geno here, in his space and comfortable. It puts something at ease in him to see Geno here, safe, instead of wherever it is that he disappears to. 

Sidney only wishes Geno would stop leaving.

\--

Weeks pass by again with no sign of Geno. Sidney starts to worry, because the last time he went this long of time before seeing Geno again, Geno ended up hurt and unconscious and needed days to heal. 

He isn’t sure what he’ll do if Geno shows up hurt again. Finally demand answers, most likely. 

Sidney knows his friends in town would listen if he needed someone and eventually Sidney gives up hiding everything away and goes to Marc’s. Vero’s watering the garden when Sidney walks up and she smiles, says hi, and lets Sidney know that Marc’s just inside. 

“I may need help,” Sidney says first thing. 

“Oh hey, Sidney, yes I’m doing just fine, thanks for asking,” Marc says. “Help you say? Not sure I can do that…”

“I’m serious,” Sidney says. “I don’t really need help, but an ear to listen.” 

“Come on, we can head out back. The kids were just about to go play back there anyway.”

So Sidney follows him into the backyard and spills everything, from Geno’s continued visits to his strange disappearances to Geno’s injury that he had claimed he had no idea about. When he’s finished, Marc lets out a breath.

“Well,” Marc starts. “It really sounds like what I told you.”

“Even if he is that--”

“A merman,” Marc points out helpfully. 

“Even if he is, I don’t care. I’m just worried about him. The last time he was gone for a while, he came back injured. And now…”

“You’re worried something’s happened again.”

“Yeah.” 

“Try not to worry so much. And if he is hurt, just cross the bridge when you get to it,” Marc says, and Sidney knows he’s right. There’s nothing he can do, and worrying himself sick won’t help either. But Sidney just can’t help it. Just thinking about it makes him feel this awful sense of dread that he can’t shake, no matter what.

“I’m still going to worry.”

Marc laughs. “I know, you’re Sid, I expect nothing less.” Marc sighs. “You like him, don’t you?”

“What?” Sidney asks, feigning ignorance. He can feel the blush on his cheeks and he hates it.

“It’s okay, Sid,” Marc says. “You want to help me round up my kids? I think it’s time to go inside. Vero will kill me if I don’t get them washed up before dinner.”

“Sure,” Sid says, feeling thankful for a topic change.

\--

When an entire month passes with no sign of Geno, Sidney moves from worried to terrified that somehow the worst has happened. He tries to think rationally, that maybe Geno just moved on from this town instead. But there’s a part of Sidney that feels like something bad has happened, this gnawing fear that’s eating at him as each day continues to pass by.

Sidney’s out on the water, taking a break from his work, when there’s a hard thud against the side of his boat. Sidney jerks, nearly toppling overboard, and slaps a hand hard against the side to steady himself. The boat’s still rocking when Sidney makes his way to the other side where the hit came from, peering over the side cautiously. There’s nothing there, so Sidney moves away from the edge and sighs. He looks around, trying to gather his bearings, his heart racing in his chest. 

When it happens again, Sidney swears loudly and goes to grab his spear. 

A hand slaps onto the side and Sidney swears again, scrambling back away from the edge. “What the fuck?” He grips tighter to his spear, armed and ready. 

When the strange figure gasps out, “Sid,” Sidney’s eyes widen.

“Geno?” 

“Sid, please,” and yeah, it’s Geno alright. 

Sidney rushes over and grabs ahold of Geno’s hand, pulling him up and into the boat. Or at least, that’s what he tries to do. But when Geno’s halfway up, Sidney starts to see blue and red where his waist starts. He almost lets go of Geno right then, too startled. He pauses instead, just griping Geno’s hand tightly so he doesn’t slip away at all.

“Geno, what?” Sidney asks. It shouldn’t even be a surprise right now. And it’s not, not really. Marc had told him, and Sidney started having his own suspicious afterward. But seeing it is an entirely different thing. 

“Sorry,” Geno’s saying, pulling Sidney out of his thoughts. “So sorry, Sid. I should say something, I’m know. But I worry. Not know how you react. Not want to lose you, so I say nothing.”

“And you just kept visiting me.”

“Yes. And I get hurt, you take care of me, so I think maybe I say but I still worry.”

“So you never said anything.”

“I’m sorry, Sid.” Geno looks worried and scared, and that’s the last thing Sidney wants. 

Sidney brushes the wet hair out of Geno’s face. “Hey, hey, just tell me what’s wrong?” 

“Hurts,” Geno tells him, and he moves his hand to his side, where Sidney sees the gash and blood. “I’m sorry,” Geno says again, and he just sounds so upset. 

“Hey, look at me, Geno,” Sidney says softly, and when Geno looks up at him, Sidney cups his cheek. “I worry when you’ve gone missing for weeks. I think maybe you’ve decided to just leave town for good, but then you show up again. I had my suspicions. But I hate when you leave, I wish you would stay for good. This,” Sidney motions to Geno’s tail, “doesn’t change anything, okay?”

Geno nods, wincing in pain afterward. 

“Good. Okay, I can’t get you on my boat. Can you make it anywhere further?”

“No, you _can_ ,” Geno says, voice shaky. “You can get me on boat.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Try,” Geno pleads, and when Sidney holds tighter to his hand and _pulls_ , he stares in awe as Geno’s tail turns into legs as Geno falls into the boat with a loud thump. “Not gonna like tomorrow,” Geno mutters before he passes out. 

\--

The entire time Geno lays passed out on the couch, Sidney sits in the chair across from it watching him or he paces around the house, alternating between making himself some hot tea or doing anything at all just to keep himself busy. Eventually, when Geno hasn’t shown any signs of waking, Sidney goes to bed.

In the morning, Geno’s still asleep and Sidney is at a loss for words on just how long Geno’s going to sleep for. It’s been almost twenty four hours and it makes Sidney worry. He’s already changed the bandages on his side, which seem to still be bleeding pretty badly. Sidney has no idea if this time Geno needs to see a doctor or not. He doesn’t even know what to tell a doctor, since Geno isn’t exactly human. There’s no way of explaining that without freaking someone out and ending up jeopardizing Geno’s life further. 

So instead Sidney continues taking care of him. 

Geno ends up sleeping for two days and when he finally stirs, Sidney is right there by his side. 

Sidney sighs with relief. “You’re awake.”

“Sid?” Geno asks, and then his eyes fly wide open and he goes to bolt upright before a shock of pain stops him. “You know.”

“Hey, don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself,” Sidney tells him, pressing a gentle hand against Geno’s shoulder. 

“You not mad? Or scared?” Geno asks, and he looks so nervous and terrified of what Sid’s answer will be. 

Sidney shakes his head, because no, no he isn’t. He can’t be. “Never. I could never be scared of you.” 

“Sid, I’m not,” Geno starts, but Sidney quiets him with a finger against his mouth. Geno’s eyes are wide, and Sidney can feel there’s a fine tremor that he’s not sure is from Geno in pain or the fear and nerves he must be feeling, or all the above. Sidney moves his hand gently, slowly until he’s cupping Geno’s cheek. 

“It doesn’t matter, okay? You, here, safe. That’s what matters, okay?” Sidney tells him softly, running his thumb across Geno’s cheek. Geno licks his lips and Sidney can’t help but to glance down at his mouth, bitten red. 

“Sid?” Geno asks cautiously, unsure.

“Don’t hate me,” Sidney says before he leans in, capturing Geno’s lips in a kiss. Geno doesn’t respond at first but when it does it’s like coming home. It makes Sid feel the same rush he did when he first stepped out on the water and realized he’d rather be nowhere else. It’s almost something more than that, more than words can say, like a buoy out at see guiding him right where he belongs. 

When they pull away, Geno says softly, “I’m never hate you, Sid. Can only love you.”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Sidney says, before he kisses him again.

\--

It takes weeks and weeks for Geno to heal this time. It’s a slow process, one filled with ups and downs and its own difficult challenges. Geno isn’t always the best patient to take care of, especially when he’s not able to do much for long lengths of time. If Sidney thought Geno was difficult last time, it’s nothing compared to now. 

But this time there’s careful kisses shared between them, Sidney worried they’ll do something and it’ll hurt Geno more but Geno not really caring. This time, Geno stays in Sidney’s bed, both taking care not to jostle Geno’s injuries at all. It’s learning experience for both. 

They talk, at times, about Geno’s life in the ocean but Geno never mentions too many specific details or when he plans to go back. It’s not until Sidney brings it up, right when Geno’s mostly healed. There’s the real possibility that Geno will leave him and go back, and that’s the one thing that worries him most.

“You been quiet,” Geno comments one day. 

“Just thinking,” Sidney tells him. “It’s okay.”

“Tell me?” Geno asks.

“When are you going back?” Sidney asks in return, and that seems to shock Geno, like it’s the last thing he thought Sidney would ask or even think about. But he has every right to, since they’ve never talked about Geno’s plans at all. 

“Not going back, Sid.” Geno looks upset. “Unless you want me to go, I go.”

“What? No, I want you to stay, that’s why I’ve been worrying. You’re almost better, won’t you be going back then?”

“Not going back. Staying here, with you.That’s why I fight, I’m fight for this, to stay on land. The ocean, I love, but it’s not my real home.” Geno taps Sidney on the chest. “This, here is my real home. With you.”

“I know you said you love me, but I thought you would have to leave eventually.”

Geno shakes his head. “I fight to stay. So I stay.”

“So you’re really here for good,” Sidney says, feeling so much relief. 

Geno pulls Sidney into his arms and presses a tender kiss to the corner of his wide smile. “Here forever, Sid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
